Working at a software company, I tend watch a lot of online videos and tutorials to help me figure things out. I also have to make a lot of those same videos and tutorials to help our customers as well. Now, with almost 365 days of working from home under my belt, and virtual conference season on the horizon, I thought this would be an opportune moment to think about making engaging educational videos.
 
There are two main questions I ask myself when watching an educational video:

1. What’s the point?
2. And why should I care?

 
That’s it. That’s everything. At last check, there were thousands (millions? billions?) of videos available on YouTube, that span all sorts of categories and content types. So for the user, if the current video isn’t good, it’s super easy to move on to the next one. That’s why those two questions are so essential for an engaging video. The attention span is short. The alternatives are vast. The choice, as they say, is yours.
 
Now take these two questions and apply them to what I consider the three rules of teaching:

1. Tell them what you’re going to tell them
2. Tell them
3. Tell them what you told them (and why)

 
If a user comes to your video and knows exactly what they’re going to learn, and then you actually tell them that information and why it’s useful, you’re golden. Nothing is more disappointing than a video that’s supposed to be about asynchronous JavaScript methods that devolves into a commercial for a niche 3rd party framework. False advertising. Same for recipes that start with brief genealogy of the chef/cook who inspired the dish.
 
Overlooked in this day of filters and hashtags is the simplicity of a clear and concise narrative. It’s great to have multimedia and quick changes and pop-culture references, but it’s not essential. It’s great to be a human being and allow yourself to be part of the messaging, but it’s not essential. It’s great to use fancy video editing software with all the bells and whistles (e.g. Camtasia or flixier), but it’s not essential. What is essential is that your videos are easy to follow and have integrity (they do what you say they will do).
 
That’s all for today. Stay safe and wear a mask (except when you’re recording an engaging educational video).

​TL/DR
Clean your bathroom more often.
 
 
The room you don’t bath in is the bathroom. The room you don’t rest in is the restroom. Of course, sometimes you do some of these things in some of these rooms some of the times. But did you know that back in the day they were called Comfort Stations? That’s because, for the most part, people crapped in the woods and washed their hands in streams. It was always cold and dark, and it was considered a comfort to sit on something and rest awhile while you handled your business. Nowadays, not like back in my days, we take these creature comforts for granted. What do you mean I can’t poop in 5 gallons of potable water? That is my right. What do you mean the urinal is out of order and I have to pee in the woods? That is unAmerican. What do you mean the hand dryer is out of order? I demand a refund. And while it’s good to have jobs, who wants to hand out breath mints and tissue things in a restroom? And don’t you just hate cleaning your own bathroom?
 
That’s enough rants for now (that was like 5 at least). I know there are way more important issues in the world than restrooms. But. I think restrooms deserve a voice too. As I’ve explained to my daughter, we all go poopoo and peepee. There are times and places for that. And some people have to go more often than others. Some people need special assistance to go. Wider doors and rails. Maybe lower toilet paper dispensers and hand dryers. But you know what? We all do it. If you’re walking around town and you suddenly have to go. If you’re about to head into a long meeting or go to bed, and you want to make sure you remain present for the entire experience. If you have a long car trip. Or if you’re like me and you spend your entire morning alternating between chugging water and chugging coffee.
 
But. We all spend time there. And time is the one thing we all have in common, no matter your age, race, orientation, or income. We all get the same amount of time in a day, and we all spend some of that time going poopoo or peepee. So we all owe it to ourselves to make the experience more better. For all of us.
 

Eleven Eleven on 07/11/17
 
I am posting this blog both 6 days late and 1 day early because I was out of town at a conference and forgot all my word (documents). This was originally intended to be published on 07/11 day, which may or may not have been amazon prime day? Anywho, enjoy the read.

TL;DR
Celebrate today by supporting your local 7-Eleven and using a public restroom.
 
 




Today is 07/11. Actually, it’s 7/11/17, which is a palindromic date (more on this later).
 
Every year on this day, I celebrate by going to the nearest 7-Eleven and using the restroom.
 
I don’t actually do this, but wouldn’t it be cool if I did?
 
7-Eleven’s typically have public restrooms. I guess they don’t always, because who monitors the public restroom situation in the world? Probably nobody. That’s why it’s up to me and my trusty wife to do so.
 
We started this activity when we were only boyfriend/girlfriend, and I had a thesis to write. The thesis required original research. Original research required original thought. And most of my thoughts when I’m out in public involve restrooms.
 
It all started back in the day. I used to drive around mapping utilities, and knowing where the closest restroom was could save precious minutes/hours/days. So, knowing where the restrooms are is a thing for me when moving through public spaces or at a friend’s house.
 
Anywho.
 
This week I’m in San Diego. There are a lot of hotels in San Diego. A lot of these hotels are the big breezy Oceanside hotels that have large anonymous lobbies. Large anonymous lobbies means that it’s easy to walk in off the street and find a restroom. There are always restrooms in hotels. Small hotels have them near the breakfast area, and/or the pool fitness room area. If none of these things exist, then they are near the reception area. Large hotels are pretty similar, except the restrooms are usually near the dining areas, and conference room areas. I’m sure there are some near the pool fitness room area, but sometimes these are not on the lobby floor so who cares.
 
Even if you’re staying at a hotel, it can still be useful to know where the public restrooms are. Why? Because if you’re sharing a room with someone, it might be useful to be able to duck out and take care of business while the other person is showering or something. Or, if you just want to be polite. Hotel rooms are intimate (by intimate I mean small and not anonymous).
 
As I wrote earlier, 7/11/17 is a palindromic date. That means that it’s the same date when written forwards or backwards, as long as you omit the leading zero (7 vs. 07) in the month column, and don’t live in Canada (or any other country that writes the day before the month in date formats). The next time this will happen is in approximately 100 years, so enjoy today while it lasts.
 
Happy flushing.
 
 
 

     TL;DR
     Wash your hands more.









There are two types of people in this world. Well, since this is based purely on my restroom observations, let’s say that there are two types of guys in this world. And no, it’s not the standing versus sitting debate, it’s far more nuanced than that.
 
Are you ready?
 
There are two types of guys in this world: those who wash their hands before they pee, and those who wash their hands after they pee.
 
Whoa.
 
Okay, it doesn’t actually end there. I would argue there are four types of guys in this world: 1) those who wash their hands before they pee, 2) those who wash their hands after they pee, 3) those who do not wash their hands at all, and 4) those who wash their hands both before and after they pee.
 
Here’s a handy matrix/diagram (if you would like a .pdf hardcopy to print-out and share with your friends, just leave a comment below):

​Pretty interesting, right? Now some of you may have no association with the hard data shown above, and may not be able to find the “wow” factor of why this is interesting. I’ve done a lot of analytics and number crunching and even thought about using AI/machine learning to better explain my findings. But I think the best way to tell this story is with an actual story.
 
Several years ago, I worked at an office in a tall office building and it was awesome. There were between 10-100 people who worked on my floor (I never actually counted so have to estimate), and the restrooms were large, spacious, and very modern. Since at home I shared a cramped apartment bathroom with another dude, the restroom at work felt luxurious. My favorite person at work was a guy called Elliot. I’m not 100% sure what his actual job was, but I would go to him to help accomplish various office tasks at least once a day. We always had pleasant conversations, and he laughed a lot, even when I wasn’t trying to be funny. This made me feel good, even if I didn’t understand why he was laughing; I just thought he liked me as a human being.
 
Anyway, one day I was washing my hands in the restroom and Elliot strolls in, gives me a friendly smile in the mirror (ever use a work restroom? and you know how when you’re washing your hands and someone walks in, and you don’t know whether to turn around and make eye contact and acknowledge them, or look up in the mirror and make eye contact and acknowledge them? or just ignore everyone because hey, it’s a restroom, not a social club house), and then Elliot proceeds to wash his hands. I figured he just ate lunch or just sorted the mail or just handled some money for something, so he wanted to wash his hands off. But after washing (and drying) his hands, Elliot proceeds to one of the 15 urinals and goes pee. At this exact moment that Elliot beings the process, a tall manager type walks into the restroom and takes a position near Elliot. This is their exact conversation:
 
Tall manager: “Hey Elliot, how was your weekend?”
Elliot: “Hahahahaha, how was your weekend.”
 
Elliot obviously thought the question was hilarious, and repeated the question like it was comedy gold. I still to this day have no idea what that interaction meant, but I loved Elliot for laughing, and the conversation went no further.
 
A few days later, similar situation (sans tall manager). I realized that Elliot washes his hands before he pees. Like, every time.
 
Amazing.
 
And then I thought more about it. It wasn’t just funny or quirky or cool. It was logical. Hands get super dirty. Super dirty hands should not get other things dirty if it can be avoided. Imagine that. Maybe we should all wash our hands before and after going to the bathroom. Maybe it would make us less sick and more healthy. Maybe it would end poverty and social injustice! Or maybe not. Maybe that’s a lot. But I tell you what, just talking about this kind of stuff openly can help, that I truly believe.

​One of the funnest experiences you can have in a public restroom is when someone suddenly rattles the door to your stall, or door to the bathroom if you’re in a single shooter, hoping to find it unoccupied. Many doors appear closed when they are in fact slightly open, or are actually closed but are not locked/occupied. While this jarring experience could help you on your way, more than likely it will inspire feelings of agitation at being bothered in a precarious state, or guilt at taking too long in said state.
 
From the other perspective, one of the least fun experiences you can have in a public place is when you head to the restroom, only to find your rest thwarted by another. For example, at a nice restaurant, there is a certain emotion associated with the long walk to the restroom, the locked door or stall, the pause, and then the decision to either make the long walk back to the table (and ensuing repeat of the trip), or to casually “hang-out” near the restroom, which is hopefully near the kitchen door so that you get to acknowledge the staff while you wait. Since the invention of cell phone apps, this sort of waiting is far easier to endure, but it’s still less than optimal.
 
If you’ve ever experienced this “access denied” when searching for relief, you know what fun it is to anticipate whether the door is locked or not upon approach. Are there any telltale signs that the restroom is occupied? A light under the door? How badly do you need to go, and where is the next restroom going to be? These are all good questions.
 
One potential solution, and something that I think about more often than the average bear I’m sure, is the restroom indicator. This was made famous by airlines, and might even be used elsewhere. It’s a simple device that indicates whether a restroom is occupied or not by attaching a signal to the door lock. So when the door locks, the sign says stop. When it unlocks, Simon says go. Imagine if every stall door or single restroom had this technology? How much time would we save? Ok, maybe not time. But think of the satisfaction of always knowing when you can go, when you got to go.
 
TL;DR
You should carry around a sign with one of those plastic suction cup things with you that reads “In Use” for when using public restrooms.

Back in the day, I used to work on the road. I traveled around mapping utility assets (electrical, telephone, cable, random fiber optics, etc.). Everywhere the lines went, I went in my snow white Jeep wrangler with a lift and aggressive tires. I worked in densely populated urban areas and in wide open forgotten armpits of America. I made pretty maps and talked to a lot of locals. I ate out a lot. I never had to make my hotel bed. It was pretty awesome.

Today, I work at a desk. It’s a nice desk, to be sure, and it doesn’t have to drive in the mud nor in the snow (I do that on my commute to and from work tho). I love my job, as it still involves pretty maps and talking to people. And it also involves lots of code, which makes me even happier these days.
 
The biggest difference between my old job and my new “career” is probably the restroom. Today, the restroom is always in the same place and I can get there in about 30 seconds from my desk, anytime I need it. Back in the day, I was anywhere from a few minutes to an hour away from a proper restroom, and that’s if I new exactly where the closest restroom was (I often didn’t). If I needed the outdoor restroom, it was usually easy enough to find, but sometimes there was an additional unnecessary excitement component to this activity (one time I was in the woods using the outdoor restroom, and out of no where a dog came up and tried to sniff/snuggle into my pocket where I had probably been keeping some crackers, it startled me so badly I nearly…. well, you get the idea).
 
Anywho, my point this morning is that now I’m a father, and there are like no baby changing stations in public men’s restrooms! Do you know how many times I’ve had to change my baby girl on the floor of a restroom? A huge pile of paper towels spread out beneath her like some sort of reverse snow-woman? The funny thing is, this is exactly what I was researching four years and two months or so ago. I feel like times are changing, because there are more outlets for peoples’ voices to be heard, and some of those voices are dads.
 
I guess that’s it for now. Happy Father’s day to all the dads out there. Time for a potty break.